FirstEnergy Solutions, the owner of Ohio's two nuclear plants, is asking the Ohio Supreme Court to stop a potential referendum on next year's ballot. That initiative would hold a referendum on HB6 which bails out FirstEnergy Solutions' two nuclear power plants.

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Under HB6, most Ohioans would see increased charges on their electric bills which would bail out nuclear through $150 million a year in subsidies. The law also creates subsidies for coal and solar farms while rolling back renewable energy requirements for utilities.

The legal challenge from FirstEnergy Solutions argues that those increased charges should be considered tax increases, which cannot be challenged by a referendum.

An Ohio State University energy economics professor disagrees with that argument. He says, if the additional charge on electric bills qualifies as a tax increase, then state utility regulators have been illegally creating new taxes for years.

Ohioans Against Corporate Bailouts is trying to gather enough signatures to put the referendum on the November 2020 ballot. They must turn in 265,774 valid signatures by October 21.

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The group fighting against Ohio's nuclear bailout law, Ohioans Against Corporate Bailouts, recieved approval from the Ohio Secretary of State on their initial filing records which means they have seven weeks to collect 265,774 signatures.

A debate is brewing over whether a group can put the state’s new nuclear bailout bill before voters next year as referendum. The dispute questions if the increased rate on electric bills should be considered a tax increase.

A national group that advocates for citizens' access to the ballot is urging Ohio officials to not stand in the way of a potential referendum issue, it would ask voters to reject the new energy law that bails out nuclear power and subsidizes coal and solar.